Three player chess board

ABSTRACT

A game board for simultaneous play of chess or the like by three players. The board is in the shape of a hexagon and is divided by transverse and longitudinal lines into three discrete territories, each of which territories includes 32 play spaces. Each territory includes a base defined by a side of said hexagon, side borders defined by half of each of the sides of the hexagon adjacent the base and frontier borders defined by lines extending from the terminal ends of the sides remote from the base to the geometric center of the hexagon. Each territory is defined into 32 play spaces by longitudinal lines extending from the base to the frontier borders and transverse lines extending from the sides to an apex line running from the center of the base.

United States Patent Zubrin 5] Mar. 28, 1972 54) THREE PLAYER CHESSBOARD FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [72] inventor: Robert Zubrln, 3Vista Drive, Great Neck,

NY H02 324,361 12/1902 France ..273/l3l L [22] Filed: Jan. 6, 1971Primary Examiner-Delbert B. Lowe [2 1 pp No; 104,439 AttorneyMark T.Basseches and Paula T. Basseches [57) ABSTRACT [52] [1.5. CI "273/131 BA g board for simultaneous P y of chess or the like y three p y Thcboard is in h: shape r hexagon and is I o are 273/131 136 vided bytransverse and longitudinal lines into three discrete territories, eachof which territories includes 32 play spaces. [56) References Cited Eachterritory includes a base defined by a side of said hexagon. sideborders defined by half of each of the sides of the UNITED STATESPATENTS hexagon adjacent the base and frontier borders defined by1,240,756 9/!917 Moore ..273/134 AB lines extending from the terminalends of the sides remote 437.838 10/1890 Sperl .....273/13l AB 3,533,627l0/l970 Deffenbaugh et al. ....273/l31 L 9/]967 Dykes ..273/l3l L fromthe base to the geometric center of the hexagon. Each territory isdefined into 32 play spaces by longitudinal lines extending from thebase to the frontier borders and transverse lines extending from thesides to an apex line running from the center of the base.

2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures THREE PLAYER CHESS BOARD BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION This invention is in the field of amusement devices.

THE PRIOR ART The game of chess has for centuries been played by twoparticipants on a chess board including 64 squares. The infinitepossibilities with respect to the series of moves which may beundertaken by participants have, in no small measure, contributed to thecontinuing popularity of this intellectual undertaking.

Heretofore the game usually has been confined to play by twoparticipants. Where articipants of significantly disparate skills arepitted against each other, the superior player will win with monotonousregularity, unlike other games, such as card games, wherein the outcomeis, in some degree, dependent upon the luck of the draw.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention may be summarized asrelatlngto a chess board which will permit participation by threeplayers. The board is so laid out that it is possible readily to traceand anticipate the complex moves of conventional chess pieces as theytraverse the territory of one player and enter the territory of another.The board is hexagonal in plan, including three identical territoriesdefining a total of 96 play spaces.

The principal advance of the invention relates to the design of theplayboard whereby the play spaces which are closer to the boundary linesbetween territories are progressively distorted in such manner as topermit the players familiar with the moves of conventional chess piecesimmediately to visualize the spaces which may be available for themovement bfthe various playing pieces so as properly to mount and defendagainst an attack.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a chess boardwhich is so configurated and arrangedasto permit the more or lessconventional movements of three armies of chess pieces, thereby enablingthe simultaneous participation of three players.

A further object of the invention is the provision of aboard of the typedescribed wherein the play spaces are .distortedinsuch manner that thepaths of movement available -to the chess pieces, particularly as theymove from one territory to another, may be readily traced by theparticipants.

A further object of the invention is to provide a chess game which maybe played with conventional chess armies by three participants, thepieces comprising the armies retainingtheir normal patterns of movement.

Still a further object of the invention is the provision of a game ofthe type described which may be played bythreepar ticipants and whereinthe superiority of any given'player may be counteracted to a degree bythe concerted efforts of, or alliance between, the other two players,whereby a participant, by a negotiating skill, may offset the superiorchess playing skill of an opponent.

Toattain these objects and such further objects-as may appear herein orbe hereinafter pointed out, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part hereof,in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a chess board in accordance with the invention;

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are views similar to FIG. 1 showing the paths ofmovement available to the various chess pieces.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a chess boardwhich, in accordance with the invention, is an equilateral hexagon inplan. Three of the sides, arbitrarily ll, 12 and I3, are referred to asbase portions. Each of the base portions ll, l2, 13 forms the rearmostboundary of a 32 space area which will be hereafter referred to hereinas a territory. Thus, there are three territories, namely, 14, forconvenience called the white territory; 15, called the red territory;and 16, called the black territory, of which the bases 11, I2 and 13form the rearmost boundaries.

The side borders of each territoryare defined by one-half of each of thesides of the hexagon adjacent the ends of the time; Thus, the sideborders of the white territory I4 aredefined by the portions l7, 18; theside borders of the red territbryl s'by the portions I9, 20; and theside borders of the black territory by the'portions 21, 22.

The frontier borders of each of the territories are defined by linesleading from the geometric center 23 of the boardto the terminal ends ofthe side borders remote from the'base. Thus, the line 24 forms a commonfrontier border between'tli'e black and white territories; the line 25,the common fi'ontier between the red and white territories; and the lineIti th'e common frontier between the black and the red territories.

As seen in FIG. I, a conventional chess army, in tliis-cas'e white incolor to distinguish it from the red and'blacI-armies which willbearrayed'in the red and black territories, respectively, is set up onthe rearmost two rows of theterritory in conventional position. Thepieces in the play of the game move in the same manner as in theconventional two man play of the game. However, it will be understoodthat in the absence of the distorted and deformed nature of the squaresor play spaces of the game board, it would be difficult; if notimpossible, to trace the path of movement permittedto the pieces as thepieces traverse the boundary lines 24, 15, 26in moving from oneterritory to the next.

As shown in FIG. 2, the movement of a pawn PTroth one territory toanother is in the direction of the line-Pewhen the space to which thepawn moves is unoccupied, and in the directions Pb, Pc, Pd if a piece isto be captured in anyofthe three noted squares'forrning the terminalends of the lin'e'sFb, Pc, Pd.

As also shown in FIG. 2, the movements of the rook R in the space orposition noted (namely King's fourthl is anywhere along the lines Ra,Rb, Re and Rd. Thus it will be seen"tliatthe movements of the rook areessentially identical withthe mdve ments in a conventional game,notably, either transversely or longitudinally, restricted to the columnor row dcctrpietiby the rook at the beginning of the move. It should benoted that the rook R is not free to move to eitherof the spaces maikbdX or to any of the spaces in the column containirt'ga space-X:

In FIG. 3, there are -shown the movements of 'thebishbp lmi on a blackspace, and a bishop BW on a white space. Ii will be noted that the blackbishop BB, as is conventional, must remain in ablack space, the paths ofmovement available to it beingalongthe continuous lines 880 and 83b. Inlike fashion;

the paths of movement of the white bishop. BW' are traced by In FIGJthere are shown the moves available to a 'k'night' The-knight, which ispermitted to move two spaces in= one direction and then one space to theside, maybe shifted'into' any of the spaces marked with theletter S.

The King K, also shown in FIG. 4, is free to move one=space in anydirection. Thus, as depicted in FIG. 4, the king'lK may be shifted intoany of the eight spaces surrounding its illustrated position.

As also shown in FIG. 4-, the queen Q is enabled to movein directionswhich comprise, in essence, a combinatiowof the movesof the bishop andthe rook. Thus, the queen Oisfreeto move in the directions Qa, Ob, Qc,0d and Qe.

SUGGESTED RULES OF PLAY From the foregoing description it will'be'evident that-the play of the game may be effected with a minimum ofmodification of the conventional rules of 'the game of chess. Theplayers move in sequence in a predetermined order white,

then red, then black. The player is the victor who is the one left afterthe other two have been eliminated. A player "is' eliminated when hisking is captured by an opposing piece. He is not eliminated when hisking is in check. The king must actually be captured. A stalemate ispossible only after one player has been eliminated.

The players may deliberately move their kings into a state of check orleave them en-prise if they wish. Such a move may be tacticallyadvantageous as a means of assuring that an ally performs in a promisedmanner.

When a player is eliminated, his pieces remain on the board but are notmoved at any time. They may, however, be captured should it proveadvantageous to a remaining competitor to occupy a space theretoforeoccupied by a piece of an eliminated player. When a player iseliminated, his turn is skipped.

An interesting aspect of three sided chess lies in the ability of theplayers to form alliances. The players may make contractual agreementsto ally against a third player, although a player is not obligated tokeep his word. Allies may not confer in secret.

STRATEGY 1n the play of three sided chess, it has been found advisableto act with caution during the initial stages, it being more importantto have an ally than to have a strong position or extra pieces. As thegame progresses, position and strength assume increasing importance. Ifa player sees that he can destroy an opponent and still retainsufficient material and satisfactory playing position, he should ofcourse strike immediately. lt should be remembered, however, that it isuseless to launch an attack with the intention of eliminating a playerif thereafter the attacker is faced with a hopeless position against themighty neutral. This may not be the case, however, if the neutral isconsidered by the attacker to be a sufficiently weak player who may bedefeated by the attacker despite some numerical disadvantage on the partof the attacker.

Generally speaking, the two weaker players, in order to have any hope ofwinning, should ally against the strongest in an effort to preserve thebalance of power. It has been found that one who is in the position ofdefending against an alliance is best advised not to defend against bothopponents equally. Instead, it is advantageous strongly to attack one ofthe allies. Such attack, if effectively pursued, will put the attackedally in a position where he can no longer continue the alliance since,if the defender is eliminated, the attacked ally will find himself in agreatly weakened position vis-a-vis his erstwhile partner.

The defender, by attacking one ally strongly, will in essence requirethe attacked ally to abandon the original alliance and form a newalliance with the defender against his former partner.

THREE SIDED VARIANT In accordance with a variant, the previouslyexpounded rules are followed with the exception that when a playercaptures an opposing king, he gains control of the remaining piecesbelonging to the eliminated player. After the elimination of the thirdplayer, the two remaining players move alternately, although thecapturing player is free to move any of the pieces which he controls.

STRATEGY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE VARIANT When the game is played underthe rules of the noted variant, two players generally form an allianceagainst the third. The game becomes a race as to which of the allieswill be the one to capture the king of the defender and thus inherit hisforces.

lt is a proper strategy for a party to such an alliance who realizesthat he will not be the heir to the remaining pieces of the defender, toabandon the alliance at the earliest possible time.

The defender, under the variant, has as his best hope the previouslydescribed tactic of diverting his entire defense a ainst one of the twoallies so as to make it apfparent that the a tacked ally will not becomethe heir to the de enders forces.

A defender in an untenable position may threaten one of the allies,normally the weaker player, with permitting the defender's king to becaptured by the stronger ally unless the weaker ally abandons thealliance.

From the foregoing brief description it will be evident that the threesided chess game incorporates all of the infinite variety andcomplexities of a conventional chess game, but with the addedcomplicating psychological factors which inhere in the formation ofalliances and the expedient breaching of such alliances.

Obviously, the two suggested methods of play are illustrative only andfurther modifications may be devised, without departing from the spiritof the present invention.

In actual practice, and through the play of a large number of games byplayers of disparate abilities at conventional chess, it has beendetermined that the instance of winning by the superior player will besomewhat greater than one in three times, the expected statisticalpercentage. The percentage of wins by the superior player, however, doesnot remotely approach that which would be expected in conventional chessgames.

It has been found that the three sided chess game of the presentinvention provides a challenge for all players. The weaker playerequalizes his lack of talent by availing himself of judicious de factotemporary alliances. The stronger player, of course, must match witswith two opponents who may ally themselves against him but who cannotnecessarily afford to persevere in the alliance for fear of beingthemselves defeated.

Having thus described the invention and illustrated its use, what isclaimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A game board having the peripheral configuration shown in FIG. I ofthe drawing and having on its surface the checkered game pattern shownin said FIG. 1.

2. An unobstructed game board for the play of chess by threeparticipants comprising an equilateral hexagonal board member having itssurface divided into three identical territories, each territoryincluding 32 play spaces, each said territory including a base definedby a side of said hexagon, side borders defined by half of each of thesides of the hexagon adjacent the ends of the base, and frontier bordersdefined by lines leading from the terminal ends of the sides remote fromthe base to the geometric center of the hexagon, each said territorybeing divided into 32 play spaces by longitudinal lines extending fromthe base to the frontier borders and transverse lines extending from thesides to an apex line running from the center of the base to theintersection of the frontier borders, said transverse lines being threein number extending to each side of said apex line and running frompoints spaced onequarter, one-half and three quarters the length of saidapex line from said base respectively to points on said sides spacedone-quarter, one-half and three-quarters the length of said sides takenfrom said base, said longitudinal lines in each symmetrical half of saidterritories dividing said transverse lines of said half into four equalincrements.

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1. A game board having the peripheral configuration shown in FIG. 1 ofthe drawing and having on its surface the checkered game pattern shownin said FIG.
 1. 2. An unobstructed game board for the play of chess bythree participants comprising an equilateral hexagonal board memberhaving its surface divided into three identical territories, eachterritory including 32 play spaces, each said territory including a basedefined by a side of said hexagon, side borders defined by half of eachof the sides of the hexagon adjacent the ends of the base, and frontierborders defined by lines leading from the terminal ends of the sidesremote from the base to the geometric center of the hexagon, each saidterritory being divided into 32 play spaces by longitudinal linesextending from the base to the frontier borders and transverse linesextending from the sides to an apex line running from the center of thebase to the intersection of the frontier borders, said transverse linesbeing three in number extendIng to each side of said apex line andrunning from points spaced one-quarter, one-half and three-quarters thelength of said apex line from said base respectively to points on saidsides spaced one-quarter, one-half and three-quarters the length of saidsides taken from said base, said longitudinal lines in each symmetricalhalf of said territories dividing said transverse lines of said halfinto four equal increments.